CBE Dialogue Recognized with 2018 IAP2 Canada Core Value Award

The award was presented to the Board of Trustees on Oct. 2, 2018. L to R: Karla Anderson, Community Engagement Advisor, Trina Hurdman, Chair, Board of Trustees, Karen Drummond, Manager, Employee and Community Engagement, Deb Hamilton, Community Engagement Advisor

This September the Calgary Board of Education received an honorable mention award in the Organization of the Year category of the 2018 IAP2 (International Association of Public Participation) Canada Core Values Awards. The CBE was recognized for its work to develop and implement a system-wide approach to community engagement called Dialogue. This approach was developed working in collaboration with Delaney + Associates.

In the past three years, Dialogue has had a significant impact on how the CBE involves people in decisions that affect them. By improving our community engagement practices, we are positively impacting staff, students, parents and community members. The CBE is building a strong culture of consultation not only by creating the Dialogue Framework, but also by providing a toolkit and training to support CBE employees who are involved in community engagement activities.

The toolkit includes more than 30 tipsheets, templates and other resources that can be accessed whenever CBE leaders need them. Training began in December 2017 and during the 2017-18 school year, more than 600 CBE leaders participated in training sessions featuring an online game that was developed in-house.

Since work began on the Dialogue Framework, the CBE has invited every parent and most staff and students to participate in at least one engagement initiative. Many have participated in more than one initiative. A few examples of these community engagement activities include:

Gathering input and feedback on transportation service levels.

Consulting with more than 50 school communities directly or indirectly impacted by the openings of new schools.

Expressions of Interest for the Science Program and Mandarin Bilingual Program.

Gathering feedback on the development of a system-wide math strategy.

The work to embed community engagement in decision-making is ongoing. Dialogue has helped the CBE deliver a more consistent community engagement experience to stakeholders and make sustainable decisions in the best interests of students.